Roger Ebert's Sex and the City 2 Review Calls Samantha Jones a Slut

Samantha Jones: Latest Target of Slut Shaming

In his review of Sex and the City 2, Robert Ebert says the "bubblehead" characters make his skin crawl. Offering a sharp assessment of the sequel, Ebert chides SATC's dark side, namely pathological consumerism, which overshadows the bright points of the former series. But caught up in his disdain for these women, Ebert, a generally women-friendly critic, allows himself to support a tired double standard of sexual promiscuity with a sexist slur. He writes:

Sex-loving Samantha may be a painfully simplified character, but I doubt that a life-long bachelor with an active sex life would be treated with the same disrespect. In fact, in his 2004 review of Alfie, Ebert describes the playboy character as a "lover to a parade of women," a "hedonist," and "compulsively promiscuous." If you ask me, none of these characterizations bite as hard as "sexaholic slut."

No, the word doesn't bother me at all. The Samantha character, ostensibly free-spirited and sexually uninhibited, is in fact an offensive, nymphomaniacal slut that seems to measure her self-worth by how many men she can bed in a 24-hr period. She's an embarrassment. A man who behaves like that is just as pathetic, there just isn't the same type of derogatory word for it. Maybe there should be so pseudo feminists wouldn't be wringing their hands when we call a slut a slut.

I just watched a comedy in which the word slut was used, and I thought about this topic, and the word didn't sound angry at all like the way I read it.
I still think the word is a bit harsh written, but I guess it depends on the tone, context, and the language one is accustomed to.

I think "compulsively promiscuous" and "sexaholic slut" are exactly the same. I even prefer "sexaholic slut" - it's a bit more poetic thanks to the alliteration.
But I think everyone's missing out on the most important aspect here: SAMANTHA JONES IS NOT A REAL PERSON. Ebert, in his review, is complaining about the PORTRAYAL of these fictional characters. He's not saying that Kim Cattrall is a slut; he's saying that she character she plays comes across as one. Which, in my opinion, is a completely justified critique. (I haven't seen the movie so I don't know if it's accurate, but I think he has a right to say that characters are portrayed in a certain light.) I agree that it's unkind to call real, complex women sluts; but if a well-respected critic can't use the word to critique a fictional female movie character, when can it be used? Should we ban the word slut entirely?

I dislike that word and all of its synonymous. The saddest part is that this word is widely used among women, that is what bothers me the most. It is such an unnecessary word. I love Samantha and she is a great example for sexually frustrated women, yes she is a sex addict, but she is so comfortable with her sexuality and with who she is that is admirable. One of my favorite character.

4 years

i'll be the spokesperson for everybody who doesnt click on the story to read the full thing and say... meh i don't care.

I dislike the word "slut" too. If it's being said about a woman it's slanderous. Men are never called names like that for exploring their sexuality. I don't even think they're called promiscuous.
Not sure why women are held to a different standard.

4 years

I remember when reading the review that the phrase did bother me. It seemed out of line with rest of the review.

It's interesting that we can be upset that the word 'slut' shows disdain for women days after a post here asking what to call an unmarried woman past a certain age -"I wouldn't exactly call my 50-year-old, never-married aunt "single." It's kind of like — though not quite — calling a woman over 40 a "girlfriend."
Samantha's a sexaholic slut spinster.

"Sexaholic" doesn't bug me, but "slut" does. "Slut" has been used for decades to shame women, and like sham28 said, it's an angry word. A misogynist word. I do think Samantha's character is a sexual caricature. But slut? Ebert should know better.

I think the use of "slut" in general is SO unnecessary.... it's just a really angry word, not to mention that Ebert isn't in high school anymore.
Sexaholic gets the point across without being completely degrading, and maintains the humor of the review.

I agree that there is a huge double standard concerning this topic, but I can see why he'd say that about Samantha. I mean, personally I find her awesome, but you can't deny that her character is so exaggerated sometimes that she comes off as a slut. Alfie's character, however, was a little more nuanced, a little more tamed, so maybe that's why he wasn't judged so hard...
But I can't deny that in general women are treated very differently when it comes to their sex lives (even by other women, which is the sadest part...).